What are we looking for???
“He who seeks good
Proverbs 11:27, 28
finds goodwill,
but evil comes to him who
searches for it.
Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,
but the righteous will thrive
like a green leaf.”
Self-Check…
Author: Wiwohka
I am a work in progress, disclaimers out the wazoo, and few that I can truly call ones who love me for me. Don't know why and I am done trying to figure it out or care...I am flawed, loud, a force of nature, but underneath there is a soul...I hope you take the time to see her.
Hmmmmm…
How do you practice religion anyway? I guess if you compare it to a soccer practice, then church or religion would probably look similar to that, I think. Alot of folks milling about, drinking coffee and socializing with the other parents. Getting all of the little ones into the right sunday scchool classes, finding a place to sit in order to see and shout out words of encouragement. Watching the coach teach the rules, and either agree with what they say, or sit and judge them for being no more than Timmy’s dad. Yup, this does kind of sound like practicing religion.
I think I would have to say that, no, I do not practice religion! I do however, practice walking a life of Faith! It’s just how I roll!
Life before Interuptus…
Swingsets…
Imaginations running wild…
Time for hands on cooking…
The great outdoors calling, could still be heard…
Eye contact…
Being out there making actual memories with the ones that are important…
That being shared, I am grateful to the internet, as it has enabled me to preserve memories and to share them now with you…
Balance…
Can you?
I bet you can’t guess what I see in this picture…
Come on, you know that you want to guess…
Think prehistoric…
Think airborn…
If you submit your guess in the comments, I will tell you my answer!
Do You Remember…
Manners
I don’t know about any of you, but I grew up in a time where manners and respect were the norm…you know, don’t speak until spoken to…if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all… those kinds of manners. As an adult, like most people, I developed the habit of being kind and polite to others. This is a fundamental skill in relating to people, and most valuably, in living together in close quarters with them.
Marriage is a great example of this kind of attitude, as we all know the adage that love covers over a multitude of sins…dirty laundry, bad breath, and the like, are those things we accept in our partner, as we understand they must put up with ours as well!
My husband and I had to take this a whole level deeper than most, as we shared the cab of a semi for a handful of years early on in our marriage. He was an over the road truck driver and I was his NAGavator…he bought me a hat with that engraved on the front, lol, and I still have that hat to this day…ya ya, I know, the nagging is a lifetime skill that I have diligently perfected!
Part of the reality of driving a tractor trailer full time is that you have to eat and sleep sometime, and that means having to park an 18-wheeler, fully loaded down, that cannot be left unattended. Sometimes, when we were in route and exhausted, the only places available for stopping were rest areas.
On one such occasion, we found ourselves somewhere in the Midwest, on a highway of endless nothing to entertain us, and we decided to take a break, grabbing a bite to eat and perhaps a nap, if time allowed for it. We spotted the familiar mile marker signs that signal an upcoming rest area, and pulled off the highway when the exit appeared.
Once we pulled into an available slip, we turned off the main engine, and started making lunch. We got a little side tracked…
Now this is where manners came into play, oddly enough…while we were Napping! Amidst our time of rest, there arose an odor, faint at first, but gaining intensity over time. In the back of my mind, I thought to myself, maybe he is not feeling well or something…unbeknownst to me, he was thinking the same as I was.
Long story short, we eventually climbed out of the cab to enter the rest area facilities…all the while, the smell had become rather overwhelming. Stubbornly, neither of us were going to be the one to address the “dirty diaper in the room”. Just as he shut the truck door to lock it, we heard a long chorus of cows mooing from off behind where the rest area was.
We looked over to see a huge dairy on the hillside behind the stop, and realized where the foul odor had been emanating from. We both burst out in relieved laughter…
He thought I did it, I thought he did it, and with good manners in place, were both prepared to hide it from the other, til the cows came home, I guess…
Live Wire…
What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:9-11
Humor Me…
I think it looks like a dog, just sitting there lookin out over the river. You have to first poke yourself in your right eye (mine barely works), and then shine a lamp in the other eye (not the best light in my RV). There, see?!
If you followed my instructions, and it worked, I am so excited and I can’t wait for you to let me know…
If it didn’t work, and/or your eye hurts now, I apologize. But really, why would you actually poke yourself in the eye?
SEE!
If you would only take the time to see To look deep within this tiny tree Hidden within the bark and the green You will find a heart beating fiercely beneath By looking within and loving this tree You have opened a path for me to break free…
Investigating Truths…
Episode 6
Life 101
Have you ever tried to bake something you were so looking forward to, but by the end of the process, it turned out to be a train wreck? Perhaps you made a small miscalculation, starting the downward spiral? In an attempt to correct the error, you went too far trying to fix things, enabling you to make a bigger mess of things?
In the beginning of my baking days, instead of starting fresh, I would simply continue trying to salvage my bake, stubbornly refusing to give up on the desired end result. This always ended in the same fashion. I would either serve something tasting of death, or it would be so burnt and hard that it was unedible.
In time, and after learning things the hard way, I decided to take a class that taught me how to read instructions properly. I also began giving myself permission to say “Throw it out and start again”. Today, I am pretty decent in the kitchen, because I took time to learn and practice the skills needed for a successful bake.
If only life were so easy to study, master, and get a 4.0 grade point average in, I would enroll as a full-time student! The tools are definitely available, but with only limited instructions for use, as well as a very large warning label. The cost of said educational textbooks is beyond affordable for most, and the instructors that are attempting to teach these classes, do not even have the answer key! They are guessing just like the rest of us!
**I pray that you are following me in a hypothetical capacity. I am in no way speaking of our actual educational system. Sometimes it is simply easier for me to give you, my reader, a visual of my idea or perspective, if you will. **
As I have recently begun Investigating Truths about myself, something came to my attention. In looking back over my life and my walk with God, I have become aware that I really dislike praying for myself! Oh, I love praying! I am in prayer with God constantly, as he is my closest ally. But, as I look back through my journals, that I have written in all my life, I noticed a glaring imbalance in my prayers. When I pray for others, whether they be friend or foe, it is with passion and an all-in capacity of faith! On the contrary, in my prayers for self, it looks quite pitiful. My prayers for myself read as if I were a teacher at the end of a very long day, whose students required every ounce of her energy, having to say something positive to yet another parent. I had simply been throwing out feeble, half exhausted prayers that I really didn’t expect God to fulfill anyway.
In case this is the first thing you have ever seen of my work, I often like to remind my readers that even though I am a mature Christian, and have been since I was 18, I still struggle with simple things at times. The reason I do this is to invite you to relate with me on this journey of GROWTH! I want to walk beside you as I share, not as a teacher, but as a fellow student in life. I am in my 50’s and I am nowhere near done growing and learning.
I suppose the reason I am outing myself in front of you, is a way for me to look at myself truthfully, yet lovingly enough for healthy growth. I have a tendency to be less than forgiving with numero uno.
As I am on a journey for truthful growth, I am choosing to learn how to look at myself more graciously (throw out the batter, and start over), instead of continuing to overcompensate (making small miscalculations, going too far trying to fix things, and making a bigger mess than before).
I am charging myself to see the lovely child that God sees, and pray with a heart that loves myself as He does; prayerfully seeking the gifts He so lovingly offers me each and every day!
**Note to Self – Out with the batter, and in with the Truth!
What makes a Home anyway?
I’m Just sitting here in my chair looking around the room at everything that IS our home. We live in a small RV, my husband and I. He and I share a living space roughly the size of most peoples living rooms. The bedroom is at the back, and the front has the entry/living/kitchen/computer/bathroom sections…in that order…altogether…with two thin bi-fold doors enclosing the bathroom.
Comparative to a house, that has walls and doors separating each section, our RV is just all in one, on a smaller scale. I myself, have lived in big houses, small apartments, trailer homes, campers, tents, behind dumpsters, and on the furniture or floor of many other’s homes.
My husband and I spent several years in our Semi, driving through all but 3 states, I think. I guess that is why I feel pretty lucky to live in this old RV. She is a rough old girl, but like me, she is fiercely loyal, keeping us warm and dry.
There are times, as I am sure you’ve guessed, that I have been rather ungrateful in my attitude. Downright feel sorry for myself kind of stuff. Then I am reminded of the ones I have seen, of late, that sleep out in the elements…all the time! For me, personally, I realize that if I were not here in this way of living, maybe I would be unable to see those that are in need…need of food, need of clothing, or shelter…and need of prayer!
I don’t have much that I can give or do for people, but I can pray! I can live a life with a grateful heart! A heart with compassion and empathy for anyone that crosses my path. My path, or Journey, if you will, is right here in this old RV. Our home, I have decided, is wherever we need to rest our heads.
I have this old quilt that was gifted to me, and I have just fallen in love with everything about it. It had a small hole in it, down near the bottom, but I patched it with a puppy decal. I have decided that I am going to start sewing decals on the old girl, for those moments that have significant meaning for me.
The more moments in my life that get recorded on this old quilt, the more beautiful my home is going to become. I promise to post a picture every time I add a decal on her so you get to see what she becomes, or if she goes on any adventures…
Journey With Me! 